Morning Tidings

Tag: Korea

  • North Korea cut diplomatic ties with Malaysia over US extradition

    North Korea cut diplomatic ties with Malaysia over US extradition

    North Korea’s foreign ministry said it was “announcing a complete end to diplomatic relations with Malaysia, which carried out major hostile acts against North Korea under US pressure.”

    North Korea on Friday announced an end to diplomatic relations with Malaysia over its decision to allow the extradition of a North Korean criminal suspect to the United States. This is the latest development of growing hostility between Washington and Pyongyang as the northern deadlock pressured the Biden administration over a nuclear standoff.

    The North Korea Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the US-based money laundering allegations against North Korean nationals living in Malaysia were perpetrated by an “absurd construction and (a) sheer conspiracy” by the “key enemy of our state”. “

    The ministry said it was “announcing a complete break-up of diplomatic relations with Malaysia, which carried out major hostile acts against (North Korea) under US pressure.”

    It warned that the United States would “pay a fair price.”

    It is unclear whether North Korea will expel its diplomats from Malaysia. North Korea has a history of retreating from its threats. For example, it has been said that it would cut off communications with rival South Korea, which happened countless times before reaching Seoul.

    Relations between North Korea and Malaysia have been frozen since the 2017 slaughter of a brother who was dropped at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 2017 by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Observers believe that no Malaysian diplomat is currently in North Korea. Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry website said the North Korean embassy is led by Kim Yoo Song, Chare DeFaires and councilors and six other staff.

    An important measure would be to deepen diplomatic relations. Malaysia has long been regarded as one of North Korea’s important economic centers, dealing with trade, labor exports, and some illegal businesses in Southeast Asia. Experts say North Korea is taking a tough stance on US-requested extradition, which it sees as part of US efforts to pressure the North.

    “North Korea is taking a hard line because it feels it should not return (after extradition) because it will have a war of nerves with the Biden government over the next four years,” said Nam Sung-woo, a professor At Korea University of South Korea.

    Naam said that North Korea is also concerned that it may face similar problems in other Southeast Asian countries if it does not strongly respond to the Malaysian extradition decision.

    Threatening to cut ties with Malaysia was one of the strongest options, with North Korea expressing its anger with the Biden administration in Washington, Hong Min, a senior analyst at the Seoul Korea Institute for National Unification Are done without jeopardizing nuclear negotiations with them. said.

    North Korea has insisted that it will not engage in meaningful dialogue with Washington unless it considers what it considers Pyongyang’s “hostile” policy. But experts say North Korea, whose sick economy is hurting more due to the epidemic, will eventually try to return to diplomacy to find ways to get relief from the sanctions.

    Earlier this month, Malaysia’s top court rejected a claim by North Korean Mun Chol Myong that the US charge was politically motivated, ruling that he could be extradited. Mun lived in Malaysia for a decade and was arrested in May 2019 after US authorities requested his extradition.

    In his affidavit, Mun denies US allegations that he was involved in supplying banned luxury goods from Singapore to North Korea in violation of UN sanctions while working in the city-state.

    He denied that he lacked funds through front companies and issued bogus documents to support illegal shipments to his country. He stated in his affidavit that the US extradition request was intended to put pressure on North Korea on its missile program.

    Following that decision, Munn’s family hired a lawyer to challenge the validity of the extradition. Lawyer Emile Ezra said that after the new legal bid focused on Mun’s authority, the court refused to accept his affidavit and also imposed an injunction to stop his extradition.

    The statement from North Korea says that Mun has already been sent to the US. Ezra said that the police had not responded to her query and she could not confirm that Mun was still in Malaysia. He said he came to know from jail on Wednesday that Mun had been handed over to police custody.

    Home Ministry officials in Malaysia could not immediately be reached for comment.

    North Korea and Malaysia established diplomatic relations in 1973, but their ties suffered a major setback in 2017 over the assassination of Kim Jong Nam.

    Two women – one from Indonesia and the other Vietnamese – were accused of colluding with four North Koreans to kill Kim Jong Nam after seeing his face with a VX nerve agent. The day Kim died, four North Koreans fled to Malaysia.

    Malaysian authorities have never officially accused North Korea of ​​involvement in Kim’s death, but prosecutors made it clear throughout the trial that they suspected the North Korean relationship. North Korea has denied any role. The two women, who said they felt she was participating in a harmless prank for a TV show, were later released.

    South Korea’s espionage service said North Korea tried to kill Kim Jong Nam for many years, though he once sent a letter to Kim Jong Un in which he begged for himself and his family members after an assassination attempt Was sought Long-time North Korea watchers believe that Kim Jong-un ordered his brother’s assassination as part of efforts to oust potential rivals and tighten their grip on power.

    For a diplomatic title, Malaysia revoked the visa-free entry for the North Koreans and expelled the North Korean ambassador, before North Korea barred all Malaysians from exiting the country.

    To cut diplomatic relations each country would need to formally close its embassies, withdraw diplomats and liquidate local property. “But if North Korea does not take any action, then their diplomatic relations will be maintained.” Malaysia would not ask why they are not facing the threat of it, said Lee Jiehon, analyst at Seoul’s Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

    .

  • China, North Korea made Austin head of Asia in a blink of an eye

    China, North Korea made Austin head of Asia in a blink of an eye

    Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are going to Japan and South Korea for four days of talks starting on Monday

    The threats from China and North Korea will have a major impact on the Biden administration’s first cabinet-level visit abroad, part of a larger effort to influence US influence and calm concerns about America’s role in Asia.

    A senior administration said on Saturday that US officials have tried to reach North Korea through several channels since last month, but have not yet received a response, with the country’s neighbors, Japan, South Korea and China Counseling is all the more important.

    Read this also. US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin visited India during his first foreign trip

    Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin are heading to Japan and South Korea for four days of talks beginning on Monday, as the administration intends to partner with two major regional treaty partners.

    Blinken and Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, would then meet with senior Chinese officials in Anchorage, Alaska. His first official overseas visits are intended to restore Biden’s hopes, a quiet and even to the relationship with Tokyo and Seoul after four years of transactions and often capricious ties under the previous president, Donald Trump. That would be the Kelt approach.

    He met diplomatic norms by meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un not once, but three times.

    Read this also. North Korea overtakes Biden administration

    In addition to their official conversations, Blinken and Austin plan virtual meetings with journalists, civil-society members, and others. After reassuring their counterparts of American commitments to Japanese and South Korean security, they plan to focus their talks on cooperating with North Korea to counter the growing nuclear China, nuclear challenge and coronovirus epidemic.

    In his first months in office, Biden has already indicated his desire to return to the Asia-Pacific – or Indo-Pacific, as has become officially more common – at the top of the US foreign policy agenda.

    In keeping with his broader “America Is Back” diplomatic theme, Biden has resolved to maintain stability in the region at the core of his international initiative.

    On Friday, Biden attended a virtual summit with leaders from India, Japan and Australia. “An independent and open Indo-Pacific is essential,” Biden told his fellow members of the so-called Quad. “The United States is committed to working with you, our allies, and all our allies to achieve stability.” As part of that effort and “to reduce the risk of escalation,” the senior official said efforts had been made since mid-February to engage with North Koreans, including what is known as the “New York Channel”. To date, the official said, “We have not received any response from Pyongyang.” The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomatic outreach.

    As the administration formulated its strategy, the official said it would continue to consult with the Japanese and South Koreans as well as China, and also reached out to several former US officials involved in North Korea policy from the Trump presidency Was. .

    Biden’s meeting with the Quad comes less than a week after US and South Korean negotiators over controversial years to arrive at a temporary deal to pay the US military presence in South Korea under Trump Hui. The agreement would be front and center in the meetings of Blinken and Austin, with a similar one for Japan.

    As he did with allies in Europe, Trump threatened to reduce security cooperation until host countries paid more, anticipating the withdrawal of the military in times of particular uncertainty as China dominated the region And North Korea’s nuclear weapons remain the major source. Get angry.

    “Diplomacy is back at the center of our foreign policy, and we are working to strengthen US relations with our allies,” said Sung Kim, a diplomat who is the top US diplomat for Asia . Yet, for all of Biden’s suggestions that he would reverse Trump’s hostility with China, he has not yet retaliated with one of his earlier policies. They did, in fact, many of them, including maintaining a sanctions in response to human rights abuses in western Xinjiang and Hong Kong and restoring a Trump-era decision to dismiss almost all of China’s maritime claims in the South China Sea has confirmed.

    And, many of China’s policies that the US finds objectionable – including its action in Hong Kong, rhetoric against Taiwan and action in the South China Sea – began during the Obama administration. The previous Democratic administration assumed the “axis of Asia” after a round of what they saw as the American disregard for the region during George W. Bush’s presidency, which at the beginning of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq Was consumed.

    In fact, although some apparent circumstances have changed since 2009, President Barack Obama’s first Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s initial foreign trip to Blink and Austin’s visit in many ways, when he traveled to Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, and Then a trip to China to re-assert American interests in the Asia-Pacific. Obama’s engagement with China did not produce the desired results, and the North Korean threat increased.

    Although China is not on a trip to Blinken, after wrapping up a stop in Seoul, he will head back to Washington via Anchorage, Alaska, where he and Sullivan meet senior Chinese officials. Austin, meanwhile, flies from Seoul to New Delhi, where he will meet top Indian leaders.

    .

  • North Korea overtakes Biden administration

    North Korea overtakes Biden administration

    Donald Trump’s efforts failed to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons

    North Korea has not responded to North Korea’s diplomatic outreach since mid-February by North Korean President Jo Biden’s administration, which includes Pyongyang’s mission at the United Nations, a senior Biden administration reported Reuters On 13 March.

    The revelation of the so-called failed US outreach, which has not been previously reported, raises questions about how Mr Biden will address growing tensions with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

    It also adds a new dimension to the visit of America’s top diplomat and the Secretary of Defense will next week for South Korea and Japan, where concerns over North Korea’s nuclear arsenal are expected to be high on the agenda.

    The senior Biden administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, offered some details on the diplomatic push. But the official said the attempt was made to reach the North Korean government “through several channels starting in mid-February, including New York.”

    “To date, we have not received any response from Pyongyang,” the official said.

    North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

    The Biden administration has so far been cautious in publicly describing its approach to North Korea, saying it was conducting a comprehensive policy review following former Korean President Donald Trump’s unprecedented engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is.

    Mr. Trump’s efforts failed to convince North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

    The Biden administration official said that it appeared that there had been no active dialogue between the United States and North Korea for more than a year, including at the end of Trump’s administration, “to engage by the United States at that time.” Despite many efforts during “.

    The US official refused to speculate on how Pyongyang’s silence would affect the Biden administration’s North Korea policy review, which was expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

    During his election campaign, Mr. Biden described Mr. Kim as a “thug” and said he would meet him only “on condition that he agree that he would be pulling down his nuclear capability” .

    US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has excluded the possibility of additional sanctions, in coordination with the allies, to suppress North Korea nuclear.

    Sanctions have so far failed to convince Kim to give up his nuclear weapons.

    Mr. Blinken is slated to host a face-to-face discussion between senior Biden administration and Chinese officials on March 18 in Alaska. The Trump administration accused China of failing to enforce sanctions against North Korea. A confidential UN report found here that North Korea, in violation of international sanctions, maintained its nuclear and ballistic missile programs until 2020 and helped fund them with $ 300 million stolen through cyber hacks .

    The report of the monitoring of independent sanctions stated that Pyongyang “produced phyzile material, maintained nuclear facilities and advanced its ballistic missile infrastructure while continuing to seek materials and technology for those programs from abroad”.

    You have reached your limit for free articles this month.

    Membership benefits included

    Today’s paper

    Get a mobile-friendly version of the article from the newspaper of the day in an easy-to-read list.

    unlimited access

    Enjoy reading as many articles as you want without any limitations.

    Personal recommendations

    A selected list of articles that match your interests and tastes.

    Fast page

    Move seamlessly between articles as our pages load instantly

    Dashboard

    One-stop-shop to see the latest updates and manage your preferences.

    Talk

    We inform you about the latest and most important events three times a day.

    Support quality journalism.

    * Our digital subscription plans currently do not include e-paper, crosswords and print.

    .

  • Samsung considers four sites in US for $ 17 bln chip plant

    Samsung considers four sites in US for $ 17 bln chip plant

    Samsung already has a chip plant in Austin, which needed a couple of weeks to resume production due to a shutdown due to a winter storm last month

    (For a quick snapshot of the top 5 tech stories, subscribe to our today’s Cash Newsletter. Click here to subscribe for free.)

    According to documents filed with Texas state officials, Samsung Electronics Company Limited is considering two sites in Arizona, Texas, and another site for a new $ 17 billion chip plant in addition to Austin, Texas.

    The tech giant is also seeking a combined tax rebate of more than $ 1.48 billion over 20 years from Travis County in Texas and the city of Austin, it added to documents dated February 26 to $ 805.5 million previously noted.

    The documents state that Samsung is in talks with sites in Arizona and New York, each offering property tax reductions and “significant grants and / or refundable tax credits” to improve infrastructure.

    Also read Samsung Introduces Its Next Generation 5G-Integrated Mobile Processor

    According to previous documents filed with Texas state officials, Samsung’s new plant is planned to build “advanced logic devices” for Samsung’s chip contract manufacturing business, and could create 1,800 jobs.

    Samsung already has a chip plant in Austin, which needed a couple of weeks to resume production due to its closure due to a winter storm last month.

    Samsung is considering a number of possibilities in terms of expansion, a spokesman for the South Korean firm told Reuters on Wednesday without elaborating.

    You have reached your limit for free articles this month.

    Membership benefits included

    Today’s paper

    Get a mobile-friendly version of the article from the newspaper of the day in an easy-to-read list.

    unlimited access

    Enjoy reading as many articles as you want without any limitations.

    Personal recommendations

    A selected list of articles that match your interests and tastes.

    Fast page

    Move seamlessly between articles as our pages load instantly.

    Dashboard

    One-stop-shop to see the latest updates and manage your preferences.

    Talk

    We inform you about the latest and most important events three times a day.

    Support quality journalism.

    * Our digital subscription plans currently do not include e-paper, crosswords and print.

    .